The owner of the dog that mauled Freddie the seal in west London has said she is “heartbroken” that the beloved seal pup had to be put down after suffering severe wounds during the attack.
Rebecca Sabben-Clare QC, a commercial barrister, told the Evening Standard she wanted to “apologise unreservedly” for the “terrible accident” and expressed regret that her pet had not been on a lead.
The 10-month-old seal pup was basking along the Thames towpath near Hammersmith Bridge on Sunday afternoon when he was attacked by Sabben-Clare’s unleashed dog. Four people passing by, among them a vet, rushed over to attempt to pry the dog’s jaws off Freddie and pull the dog away.
The seal was taken to the South Essex wildlife hospital in Tilbury where vets attempted to treat his wounds, including a broken bone, dislocation of a flipper and damage to joints, ligaments and nerves. But the severity of his injuries meant Freddie could not be saved and had to be put down.
An eyewitness, Duncan Phillips, described the attack, which he said lasted around two minutes, as “vicious”. “The dog just wasn’t letting go and it had its teeth in. It was clamped on, which is the best way to describe it,” he said.
The attack has ignited calls for dog owners to exercise more careful control over their pets and keep them on a lead in public, with particular concerns about how dogs may behave around livestock and wild animals.
Sabben-Clare, 49, said in a statement that in hindsight she wished she had had her dog on a lead but at the time “it did not seem necessary”. She said: “I am heartbroken by this terrible accident … I apologise unreservedly for what happened. In hindsight I wish, of course, that the dog had been on a lead but at the time that did not seem necessary.”
She added: “I left for my own safety and that of my dog, believing that there was nothing that I could do to help as the seal was being looked after by a vet and help had been called.” She added that she offered her contact details to the vet before leaving.
Sabben-Clare said she had been interviewed by the RSPCA and had also contacted the police. The Metropolitan police said they had investigated and would take no further criminal action.
The barrister added that she had made a donation to the South Essex wildlife hospital, which treated Freddie.
